Ha ha, okay I see.

I'd buy a dozen G70's if I could. I played one for a couple of hours in the days when you could find a TOTL arranger in any store. The reason I played it so long speaks for itself. That was an incredible sounding machine as I recall. But I'm a "styles" person. Like some men look at bosoms first, I look at styles first. And those styles were noticeably creative and very playable.

I've been playing Roland's for many years. The reason I'm still using my E-300 is because of the styles. Not only the on-board ones are useful, I collected hundreds of them from various sources. Almost every one is a "keeper."

Ketron styles are good, but they play YOU, you don't play them. They come on too strong. Like listening to a vocalist singing on stage where the band in the background is dominant because the sound man is not listening to the mix.

Yamaha styles are good but they sound (to me) too automated, too robotic, too sterile. And, if I'm correct, the Tyros is geared toward the home market, because the machine is so big. And, then, those silly symbols on the screen that represent the sounds. Very unprofessional.

Korg, I think has the worse styles. That doesn't mean they're bad, I just think out of the top machines......Korg has the worse styles. It appears they blew their bankroll on machine design, architecture, strength and durability, operating system, and had a little bit left over to pay some musicians to make styles. What really ticks me off on my PA3x is they advertise 4 variations. But those 4 variations are all the same with only one instrument coming into the background for each (variation). You can't even hear the difference.

Those of you who go back to the days of the birth of the arranger, can remember the styles were basic but full, rich and authentic. I'm still trying to find a decent cha-cha, tango, etc on these new machines. What happened here is with each new wave of arranger models to hit the consumer, they had to make new styles. So they took those wonderful styles they started out with and began modifying to the point where nothing sounds like it's supposed to anymore. Example: waltz vs Strauss waltz. The Strauss waltz is held back slightly in each measure. The Strauss waltz on the machines I've seen are nothing like that. How can you play the Blue Danube properly with a style that sounds like a merry-go-round waltz?

Anyhow, I'm tired of hearing myself talk and being so judgemental.

But before I close, someone mentioned in another post they sold their arranger because they got tired of the same rhythms. That's easily cured by working the fill switches feverishly, on and off, sometimes plying 8-16 measures using just the "fill." And now you have pads, which give you more freedom to change the styles as you go.

Finally, instead of focusing on new arrangers (is there going to be a Tyros 57 or a PA103X, using Novation space stations, etc) I would focus on improving my presentation. People see and hear YOU, the singer, first and the machines second if they even listen to them at all. Your presentation and rapport with the audience, and not your Star Wars gadgetry, is what sells you.

I think the problem with ALL new arrangers is that they are constantly trying to reinvent the wheel with new styles. Dancers want a beat they can follow, and not be distracted, or confused as they dance. Cha Chas, Jitterbugs, Disco ... whatever your flavor - these betas all exist in a predetermined form, and changing them up each year to make a new arranger sound "fresh" just makes it harder to use. Ketron is one of the companies that actually offers a more basic, traditional arrangement in their drum beats, and I wish more manufacturers would follow suit. Roland does, as well. I agree with Mark, that Yamaha is more sterile, and Korg is too busy (at times), but in general - I think ALL the brands have tried too hard to "improve" the beats that have already been proven. I reiterate my affection for the EASY EIGHT that Roland put out, some 30 years ago ... the most versatile dance arsenal on any arranger to this day. Every time I get a new instrument, I tweak the styles to include my Easy 8 patterns, and I'm off to work! I learn the rest as I go along. There are very few songs I cannot cover using just 8 simple drum beats. The rest comes from my heart, and my hands.